The Dream-Eaters Blind Run #1B: Waking Nightmare

Tommy’s a rookie and in turn I’m very much a rookie Tommy player. I’ve experimented a bit, but what I’m going to do might well turn out far from reliable. In my opinion Newspaper II is the best Survivor clue-gathering card for solo games. I won’t be including it in the deck. At first I’ll be relying almost entirely on events and then I’ll take Keen Eye. Keen Eye doesn’t have the best reputation, but I’m hoping Tommy can make it work with his robust resource gain. In addition I’ll be throwing in a small number of passive bonuses, namely Alice Luxley and later Guiding Spirit. The newest FAQ update made it clear that Guiding Spirit needs to be protected, so I’m also throwing in lots of horror soaks. Those soaks are also there to make up for Tommy ignoring his Willpower and Agility and foregoing any sort of encounter control.

Tommy’s first task is to protect the sleeping Jenny while she’s having her adventures in the Dreamlands. We’ll see how it goes.

Waking Nightmare

Tommy convinced Dr. Maheswaran to stay with the patients.

Pre-Mulligan Hand: Alice Luxley, Lucky!, Evidence!, Take Heart, "Look what I found!"

Opening Hand: Alice Luxley, "Look what I found!", Fine Clothes, Prepared for the Worst, Take Heart

#1

• MOVE to Records Office
• INVESTIGATE (commit Take Heart, , draw Lucky! & Guard Dog, gain 2 resources)
• PLAY Prepared for the Worst (draw Becky)
  • It would’ve been ideal if I could use “Look what I found!” to get those two clues, but otherwise the game is cooperating nicely.
• Upkeep: draw Guard Dog, 7 resources total.

#2

• Mythos: 1/2 doom, Suspicious Orderly
  • Huh... That’s a major problem. Tommy cannot introduce that man to Becky and cannot investigate with him looming over his shoulder. I withdraw my earlier statement, the game is not cooperating at all!
• EVADE (, exhaust Suspicious Orderly)
• INVESTIGATE (+1, 1 clue from Records Office)
• INVESTIGATE (, 1 clue from Records Office)
• Enemy: Suspicious Orderly readies & engages
  • Being thorough is commendable, but our rookie cop took his time browsing through the records and couldn’t slip out of the room.
• Upkeep: draw Lucky!, 8 resources total.

#3

• Mythos: 2/2 doom, advance Halls of St. Mary’s, Waiting Room is infested, Frozen in Fear
• Infestation: , Records Office is infested
  • Hey! Objection! The agenda describes the complete lack of staff, but I’ve got an Orderly on me and he’s clearly Staff-traited.
• PLAY Alice Luxley
• PLAY Fine Clothes
• PLAY Becky
• × Frozen in Fear (-3)
  • I’m guessing Tommy is uncomfortable in his dress uniform? Or perhaps Detective Luxley is being openly disapproving? Get it together, rookie!
• Upkeep: draw Fine Clothes, 2 resources total.

#4

• Mythos: 1/6 doom, Whispers of Hypnos ()
  • That’s a twist on those Dunwich action-denial treacheries, isn’t it? It still seems basically irrelevant in solo games.
• Infestation:
• EVADE (-2, Lucky!, exhaust Suspicious Orderly)
• MOVE to Waiting Room
• × Frozen in Fear (-1, Lucky!, discard Frozen in Fear)
  • OK, that was two Lucky! in a row, but hopefully it takes care of the delays.
• Enemy: Suspicious Orderly readies
• Upkeep: draw .45 Thompson, 1 resource total.

#5

• Mythos: 2/6 doom, Frozen in Fear
  • Imagine hearing a distinctive clap of me face palming, OK?
• Infestation:
• INVESTIGATE (0, 1 clue from Waiting Room)
• MOVE to Emergency Room
• × Frozen in Fear ()
• Enemy: Suspicious Orderly hunts to Waiting Room
• Upkeep: draw "Look what I found!", 2 resources total

Board State Reminder: 8 health, 6 sanity, 2 resources, 3 clues

In Play: Alice Luxley, Becky (2 ammo), Fine Clothes

In Hand: 2x "Look what I found!", 2x Guard Dog, Fine Clothes, .45 Thompson

Threat: Frozen in Fear

#6

• Mythos: 3/6 doom, Sickening Webs
  • Wonderfully designed! It sells the idea of being trapped. BTW, our policeman is trapped, but when the orderly catches up it won’t bother him one bit? He’s a spider, I tell you guys!
• Infestation:
• INVESTIGATE (, 1 clue from Emergency Room)
• Advance Looking for Answers
• Infestation:
  • We’re getting our fair share of tablets. I assume that’s good. We’re slow, but the infestation is proceeding slowly as well.
• Sickening Webs (-3)
• Sickening Webs (commit .45 Thompson, -4)
  • Oi!
• × Frozen in Fear (0, discard Frozen in Fear)
• Enemy: Suspicious Orderly hunts & engages
• Upkeep: Perception, 3 resources total.

#7

• Mythos: 4/6 doom, Spider of Leng
  • That’s a target Tommy can shot. Finally!
• Infestation: , Emergency Room is infested
• FIGHT with Becky (1 ammo left, -3, 2 damage to Spider of Leng)
• FIGHT with Becky (0 ammo left, -1, defeat Spider of Leng)
• Sickening Webs (0, discard Sickening Webs)
• Upkeep: Emergency Cache, 4 resources total.

#8

• Mythos: 5/6 doom, Swarm of Spiders
  • More spiders! Let’s imagine the smaller ones burst out of the larger one our rookie cup just put down. The problem is, Tommy hasn’t reloaded his weapon.
• Infestation: , Experimental Therapies Ward is infested
• PLAY Guard Dog (Swarm of Spiders & 2 swarm cards attack, 1 damage, defeat Alice Luxley, put 2 ammo on Becky)
• MOVE to Experimental Therapies Ward (Swarm of Spiders & 2 swarm cards attack, defeat Guard Dog, defeat all swarm cards & Swarm of Spiders, gain 1 resource and put 2 ammo on Becky).
  • I’ve got a feeling that the above will become a staple Tommy tactic for dealing with small enemies. Team effort at its best. Still, give the amount of time wasted I don’t feel comfortable lingering around too long. We’ll leave those XPs.
• MOVE to Stairwell (, Private Room, -4, 2 damage)
  • And… it turns out Tommy needs to backtrack. Cool stair-tumbling mechanic though!
• Upkeep: Alice Luxley, 3 resources total.

#9

• Mythos: 6/6 doom, advance The Infestation Spreads, Glimpse of the Underworld
  • Told ya! He was infested. Glimpse of the Underworld is insidious, but Tommy is well-equipped to handle it. As soon as we’re done parleying with Randolph we’ll burn off Fine Clothes for some resources or ammunition.
• Infestation:
• FIGHT with Becky (3 ammo left, , defeat Corrupted Orderly)
  • BOOM HEADSHOT! However, note that there’s no upper limit on those Elder Things tokens. That’s rare on Standard.
• MOVE to Stairwell
• INVESTIGATE (commit Perception, , draw Prepared for the Worst, 1 clue from Stairwell)
• Upkeep: draw Alice Luxley, 4 resources total.

#10

• Mythos: 1/8 doom, Swarm of Spiders
• Infestation: , Swarm of Spiders at Experimental Therapies Ward
  • There’s more! On the plus side that second swarm won’t hunt our guy.
• FIGHT with Becky (2 ammo left, -4, defeat two swarm cards)
• FIGHT (, defeat Swarm of Spiders)
  • On re-read the above was a likely misplay. Becky can be reloaded so the need to conserve ammunition isn’t so pressing.
• MOVE to Private Room
• Upkeep: draw Cherished Keepsake, discard Emergency Cache, 5 resources total.

Board State Reminder: 5 health, 6 sanity, 5 resources, 1 clue

In Play: Becky (2 ammo), Fine Clothes

In Hand: 2x "Look what I found!", Guard Dog, Fine Clothes, Alice Luxley, Prepared for the Worst, Take Heart, Cherished Keepsake

Threat: Glimpse of the Underworld

#11

• Mythos: 2/8 doom, Frozen in Fear
  • Again?!
• Infestation:
• Private Room (-2, -1, take Randolph Carter)
• Advance Search for the Patient
  • I see. I see. It's theoretically possible to contain the infection, but the margin of error is going to be razor-thin.
• Glimpse of the Underworld (defeat Fine Clothes, put 2 ammo on Becky)
• MOVE to Stairwell
• × Frozen in Fear (commit Cherished Keepsake, 0, discard Frozen in Fear)
• Upkeep: draw Something Worth Fighting For, 6 resources total.

#12

• Mythos: 3/8 doom, Whispers of Hypnos ()
• Infestation: , Stairwell is Infested,
• Containing the Outbreak (-1, Stairwell is contained)
• MOVE to Experimental Therapies Ward
• PLAY Guard Dog (Swarm of Spiders and 2 swarm cards attack, 1 damage, defeat Randolph Carter, gain 2 resources)
• Enemy: Swarm of Spiders and 2 swarm cards attack, defeat Guard Dog, defeat all swarm cards & Swarm of Spiders, gain 2 resources & put 1 ammo on Becky)
• Upkeep: draw Randolph Carter, 6 resources total.
  • Incredible! Randy won't go down!

#13

• Mythos: 4/8 doom, Will of the Spider-Mother (commit Take Heart, , draw Scene of the Crime & Guard Dog)
  • Scene of the Crime is the exact card we need to counteract the Will of the Spider-Mother.
• Infestation:
• PLAY Scene of the Crime (1 clue from Experimental Therapies Ward)
• PLAY Randolph Carter
• Containing the Outbreak (spend 1 clue, Experimental Therapies Ward is contained)
• Upkeep: draw Something Worth Fighting For, 4 resources total.

#14

• Mythos: 5/8 doom, Locked Door (on Experimental Therapies Ward)
• Infestation:
  • Tablets are good, but at this point I wouldn't mind Cultists. The chokepoint is already secured, so we're really only going to be slowed down by Skulls spawning enemies.
• MOVE to Emergency Room
• Containing the Outbreak (-1, Emergency Room is contained)
  • Nice! We're cutting it very close, but it can still be done!
• MOVE to Waiting Room
• Upkeep: draw Scene of the Crime, 5 resources total.

#15

• Mythos: 6/8 doom, Will of the Spider-Mother (-3)
• Infestation: , Corrupted Orderly
  • Well, well, well, isn't that the guy from before? Notice that he has both the lowest evade value and the lowest damage output.
• EVADE (commit Fine Clothes, )
  • No? In that case we're rolling out in full tank-mode!
• Containing the Outbreak (Corrupted Orderly attacks, 1 damage & 1 horror to Randolph Carter, commit Something Worth Fighting For, 0, Waiting Room is contained)
• MOVE to Records Office (Corrupted Orderly attacks, 1 horror to Randolph Carter, 1 damage)
• Enemy: Corrupted Orderly attacks, 1 damage & 1 horror)
• Upkeep: draw Take the Initiative, 6 resources total.
  • Yes, that's perfect!

Board State Reminder: 2 health, 4 sanity, 6 resources, 0 clues

In Play: Randolph Carter (1 damage & 2 horror), Becky (5 ammo)

In Hand: 2x "Look what I found!", Alice Luxley, Prepared for the Worst, Scene of the Crime, Guard Dog

Threat: Corrupted Orderly

#16

• Mythos: 7/8 doom, Dissonant Voices
• Infestation:
• Containing the Outbreak (Corrupted Orderly attacks, 1 damage & 1 horror, commit Take the Initiative, 0, Records Office is contained)
• Advance Containing the Outbreak (R3).
  • Done! BTW, notice that "Look what I found!" from the opening hand never got played.

Our rookie staggered out of St. Mary's with one health left, but managed to contain the spider infestation. Tommy took an impressive 18 damage during the scenario and that's more than twice his initial health. This was possible even though the soaks were geared more towards horror than health. Guard Dog was the definite MVP of this game. Alice was less useful, but still done her part.

The main question for future playthroughs is whether Dr. Maheswaran is worth it? I managed to keep her alive and she watched over Jenny, but there's no denying that the beginning of the scenario would've much easier with her as an ally. Time will tell. See you in around two months when we continue Campaign B with Tommy!

Campaign Log:

Waking Nightmare: Dr. Maheswaran stayed with the patients. Dr. Maheswaran is alive. Randolph escaped the hospital with Tommy. The black cat has a hunch. 4 XP (Waiting Room, Records Office, Stairwell)